WINDHOEK, April 17 — The Bank of Namibia has decided to maintain its benchmark interest rate at 6.75 percent to preserve the Namibian dollar’s peg to the South African rand and support domestic economic activity, the central bank said on Wednesday. The pause came following four consecutive cuts announced by the central bank. The decision was made during the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) second meeting of the year, during which rising inflation and global economic uncertainty were highlighted as key considerations for keeping the policy rate steady, said Johannes Gawaxab, the central bank’s governor. “The MPC noted that the potentially slower global growth would lower the projected trajectories of most commodity prices, oil included, but this favorable impact on domestic inflation seemed to be offset by a weaker exchange rate,” he said, adding that additional upward pressure from administered prices is also likely in the coming months. The central bank revised its inflation forecast for 2025 to 4.2 percent, up from a previous estimate of 4.0 percent, while real gross domestic product growth is projected to reach between 3.5 percent and 4.0 percent for 2025, slightly lower than earlier estimates. The bank identified trade tensions, delays in infrastructure upgrades, and water supply challenges in some regions as downside risks to the economic outlook. International reserves fell to 59.7 billion Namibian dollars (about 3.2 billion U.S. dollars) by the end of March, down from 64.3 billion Namibian dollars in January. Despite the decline, the bank said this level represents about 3.9 months of import cover, sufficient to support the currency peg and meet external obligations.
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